When you get advice

This page covers how the Citizens Advice network uses your data to provide you with advice. This covers generalist advice as well as nationally managed funded services. 

Locally managed services may have different privacy policies for specific services. For more information on these you can contact the local office directly or check their website.

How we collect your information

When we provide advice we either collect this data directly from you or receive it through a referral from a partner organisation.

We will collect this data in different ways depending on how you approach our service, including:

• face to face - for example by discussing your situation with an advisor

• completing a form - this could be a digital form or paper form

• over the phone - for example by calling Adviceline or a local office directly

• email 

• webchat

We also receive information from partner organisations through referral mechanisms. Where you are referred to us, you should be advised that you are being referred as well as what information we will be provided by our referral partners.

What information we collect

To support your enquiry we collect information about you and your circumstances. You can choose which information you give us, but not providing certain information may limit the advice we can give you. This may include:

• your name - you can ask to remain unnamed but this may limit the advice we are able to provide

• contact details such as your address, phone number and email address

• profile information such as your date of birth and whether you have any accessibility requirements

We will also collect any information about your issue which could help us provide you with advice which can include:

• information about your finances - for example your income, expenditure, debts, benefits or pension

• credit reports - we may get copies of your credit history with your permission

• details of the products or services you are having issues with

• details of your housing such as your rent, mortgage and housing conditions

• information about your health or disability

• details of any discrimination you face

If you contact us by phone we will also record the phone call for training and monitoring purposes.

You may also be asked to provide demographic information at your advice session. This will not affect the advice you receive and will be used to understand more about our service. For more information see the section on statistical processing.

Information about third party individuals

We may also gather information about you if you aren’t one of our clients. We will do this if it is relevant to provide a client with advice. For example, to assist a client with a debt assessment we will need relevant financial information about members of their household.

What we use your information for

We use the information you give us to:

• provide you with advice, guidance and information

• stay in touch with you about the advice we are providing

• help with applications such as a debt recovery order or benefit claim 

• training our staff and volunteers

• assess the quality of our advice

• investigate complaints or claims

• get feedback from you about our services

• help us improve our services

• address the root causes of the issue you are experiencing

• share stories about your experience with Citizens Advice, with your permission

We may also record any unacceptable behaviour from clients if we deem this to cause disruption to our service or threaten the wellbeing of our staff, volunteers or any other person.

In some circumstances we may also use your information to carry out legal obligations, including for:

• safeguarding

• fraud prevention

• regulatory compliance

Our confidentiality policy

At Citizens Advice we have a confidentiality policy which states that anything you tell us as part of advice will not be shared outside of the Citizens Advice network, unless you provide your permission for us to do so.

There are some exceptions to this such as needing to share:

• to prevent an immediate risk of harm to an individual

• in select circumstances if it is in the best interests of the client

• where we are compelled to do so by law - for example a court order or meeting statutory disclosures

• where there is an overriding public interest, such as to prevent harm against someone or to investigate a crime

• to defend against a complaint or legal claim

• to protect our name and reputation - for example to provide our side of a story reported in the press

There are also some services which may be exempt from this policy. For example there are some services which we deliver jointly with partner organisations using joint systems. Where this is the case you will always be advised of this when you are seeking advice.

Funded services joint controllers

At national Citizens Advice we manage a number of funded services. These are advice channels where we deliver specific services with funding from our partners. In some circumstances we are jointly responsible for designing these services and are joint controllers for your information. Funders will not have direct access to your case record but the services are jointly designed with them. We also share de-identified information with them to help them understand the service.

• Money and Pensions Service (Pension Wise and Debt Advice Project)

• Trussell Trust (Help through Hardship project)

Who we share your information with

In addition to the categories of recipients below, we may also ask to refer you to another organisation who we think will be able to provide you with more support. We will ask your permission to make any such referral.

Referral partners

We will share your information with partners when we want to refer you to another service. This may be as part of a jointly run service or where we believe another organisation may be better placed to provide you with the advice you need. We will only make a referral when you have given us your permission to do so. 

Some established referral partners include:

• The Extra Help Unit - run by Citizens Advice Scotland who manage complaints with energy suppliers on behalf of people who may be considered vulnerable or at risk of disconnection

• Trussell Trust - to issue you with a food bank voucher

• Fuel bank foundation - to issue you with a fuel voucher

Funders

We share information with our funders in order to demonstrate that we are meeting the funding requirements. Information will normally only be shared in a de-identified manner unless you give us your permission to do so or we need to in order to investigate a quality issue, complaint or claim.

Regulators

We are legally required to provide information to regulatory bodies in some circumstances. These include but are not limited to:

• Ofgem - the regulator for gas and electricity

• Ofcom - the regulator for the broadcasting, telecoms and postal industry

• the Financial Conduct Authority - the regulator for financial and banking services

• the Competition and Markets Authority

• the Food Standards Agency

• the Legal Services Board

• Trading Standards 

Auditors

We share information with our internal and external auditors to allow them to carry out audits to ensure that we are complying with our legal obligations and standards of best practice in how we run the organisation.

Banks, credit reference agencies and creditors

We may also share your information with banks or creditors to help get information to assist in our advice. We will only do this with your permission or where we are legally required to do so. Information we share will be used for purposes including:

• getting a credit report to assist with financial enquiries

• understanding more about your income and expenditure 

• understanding more about the debts you owe

Employers or benefit providers

We may also contact your employer or benefit provider to understand more about your income, we will only do this with your permission.

Translation and interpretation services

We may share your information with a translation or interpretation service to enable us to communicate with clients who prefer communication in different languages.